Media Advisory: Hatch Invites Senate Republicans to “Lean In” with Facebook's Sheryl Sandberg
Washington, D.C.—Senator Orrin Hatch, chairman of the Senate Republican High-Tech Task Force, will convene a special briefing with Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg on Wednesday, June 22 from 2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Sheryl oversees Facebook’s business operations, including sales, marketing, business development, and communications. Sheryl joined Facebook in 2008 and has helped the company to become the world’s leading social media company, with 1.65 billion people logging in every month—more than 80 percent of whom are overseas.
Republican Senators will have the opportunity to discuss many of the issues confronting the technology industry, including: privacy, high-skilled immigration, intellectual property protections, cross-border data flows, big data, computer science education, and free speech, among others.
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Senate Environment and Public Works Committee holds hearing on Hatch Ozone bill
Washington, D.C.—Today the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee held a hearing to consider bipartisan air quality legislation sponsored by Senators Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., and co-sponsored by Senators John Boozman, R-Ark., and Joe Donnelly, D-Ind. The bill would require the establishment of Early Action Compact Programs for ozone control by directing the EPA to implement a program that allows local communities to enter into voluntary cooperative agreements with the EPA; these agreements would utilize locally crafted solutions to improve air quality so that they can comply with federal standards.
In a statement, Hatch said, “This legislation will allow areas in or near non-compliance with federal air quality standards to have the option of taking early action to improve air quality at the local level, utilizing local solutions. Under this program, if enacted, our communities could actually improve air quality and altogether avoid a non-attainment designation and the negative economic job killing consequences that come with it.”
Senator Hatch’s full statement for the record is below:
Chairman Capito, today I wish to speak about ozone and current Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ozone standards. Ozone is a naturally occurring phenomenon. In many ways, ozone is good for our planet because it shields us from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays. On the other hand, scientists tend to agree that extreme concentrations of ozone, especially when it hovers over cities, can have adverse health effects on human populations. Because of this, the EPA regulates ozone levels across the country under the authority of the Clean Air Act.
Now I understand the importance of keeping America’s air clean, especially if too much ozone presents a public health risk. But if we are going to alter federal ozone standards, revisions should be both based on science and mindful of economic impacts. Regrettably, EPA’s recently released and updated National Ambient Air Quality Standards fail to meet these two criteria.
While EPA’s revisions may be well-intended, the agency misses several critical points. For example, in a rush to create national standards, EPA glossed over regional environmental variables. EPA chose to simply establish a blanket, nationwide standard for permissible atmospheric ozone, and in doing so, they ignored the science concerning naturally occurring ozone—or what many call “background” or “ambient” ozone, which varies from region to region.
Unfortunately, for many areas across the West, this new standard is either at or near background ozone levels. As a result, EPA’s new standard will disproportionately impact many Western communities. Even before the updated standard, if you happened to live in an area with high levels of ambient ozone, you were likely already at risk of being designated as living in a “non-attainment” area. Now that the standard has become more stringent, it is likely to push these areas over the edge. And, to be clear, a non-attainment designation can result in significant and detrimental economic consequences for a community.
For these reasons, while I recognize the importance of protecting our environment and monitoring air quality, I question the practicality of EPA’s recently updated standards. In my view, as a matter of responsible governance, we need to push back against these types of one-size-fits-all federal mandates that inadequately account for regional dynamics. In this case, especially due to the high potential for economic ramifications, ozone regulations need to be based on sound science and must consider regional ozone levels that occur regardless of human contribution.
Chairman Capito, at a time when Americans across the country are struggling to regain their footing and make ends meet, our federal government should be facilitating job creation and economic expansion, not stifling these efforts. Without a doubt, we should be exploring ways to improve our environment, but I believe that economic and environmental progress are not mutually exclusive. The choice between jobs and the environment does not have to be a zero sum game. With this in mind, I have introduced legislation, S. 2072, alongside my colleague and friend, Senator Claire McCaskill. Our bill would direct the EPA to implement a program allowing communities to enter into voluntary, cooperative agreements with the EPA to craft local solutions that improve air quality in compliance with federal standards.
Specifically, existing law is failing to energize efforts to improve air quality because it does not permit the EPA to give at-risk communities any “early action” credit for environmentally beneficial actions taken before a non-attainment designation. Instead, the EPA can only give credit for improvements that are made after a designation is declared and the damage is already done. Early-action cooperative agreements help address this problem, and they have a strong precedent and a proven track record.
As background, in 2002, the EPA initiated a plan similar to the one outlined in S. 2072, called the Early Action Compact Program (the Program), which allowed areas struggling to comply with federal standards to enter into an agreement with the EPA. The goals of these agreements were to improve air quality, to avoid a nonattainment designation during implementation, and to provide credits for investments made as part of the compact. Under the Program, 29 areas from over ten states entered into agreements by December 2002. Of those areas, fourteen successfully deferred nonattainment status and fifteen achieved attainment. Ultimately, only one area—Denver, Colorado—failed to complete the program. The Program’s ability to provide flexibility provided communities with the tools they needed to control emissions more efficiently. Most importantly, the Program achieved success in a way that didn’t come at the cost of jobs and the economy.
Unfortunately, far-left environmental activists—more interested in blocking industry than preserving our environment—sued the EPA. By 2007, the EPA scrapped the Program due to litigation which argued that there was no authority under the Clean Air Act for the program. Thus, after 2007, the Program ended.
The legislation I introduced with Senator McCaskill will give clear authorization and direct the EPA to implement a program similar to the program of the early 2000s. Our bill will allow vulnerable areas across the country to again have the option of taking early action at the local level where it is most effective. This way, our communities can actually improve air quality and avoid a non-attainment designation and the negative economic consequences that come with it. If enacted, the EPA will be granted clear authority to give early action credit to at-risk areas across the country looking for help in complying with federal standards. In turn, communities will be able to propose local, proactive solutions, in voluntary cooperation with the EPA, to improve air quality without risk.
To conclude, Chairman Capito, compromise isn’t a bad word. You understand that improving good governance, the economy, and the environment is not a zero-sum game. Empowering our cities and counties with tools to implement locally-crafted solutions to our problems will always deliver better results than big, one-size-fits-all federal mandates, standards, and rules crafted by unelected bureaucrats in Washington.
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Hatch Applauds Supreme Court Decision on Immigration
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